


The Perfect Surprise

by BlackMajjicDuchess



Series: Nosedive [1]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Love, Ramen, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-15
Updated: 2014-02-15
Packaged: 2018-01-12 13:04:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1186602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackMajjicDuchess/pseuds/BlackMajjicDuchess
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata's up to something, and Naruto's freaked out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Perfect Surprise

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted on fanfiction.net under the same pen name on 8/11/2012
> 
> Casually enjoyed alcohol and angsty dating.

"Naruto, I'll be back later. I've got training to do!" Hinata hurried out the door, waving, gone before he could really even say anything.

The door slammed shut behind her. "Okayyyy!" he called to the empty air, suddenly lonely. His wife had been acting incredibly strange lately. She was always gone. When he asked her about it, she told him it was for training, but she was dodgy about the type of training she was working on. It'd been going on for the better part of two weeks, and he was starting to freak out. Was she seeing someone else? Was she avoiding him? Was she…pregnant? A million questions dashed through his head, and none of them made him feel any better. "I need a hobby," he said aloud to no one.

He decided to go see if any of his friends were available. As they'd gotten older, they'd picked up their elders' habit of going to the bar in their free time. They didn't always want to drink, but it was a good, central location and it served good food, too. The only person there was Kiba, and he looked troubled. His friend was searching for wisdom in the bottom of a bottle. He'd done that himself a time or two.

"Kiba, hey," he greeted, sliding in to the bar stool adjacent.

Kiba took a deep breath and plastered a fake smile on his face. Naruto had improved on picking up social cues, and he knew what that meant. Whatever it was that was bothering Kiba, he didn't want to share. "Hey Naruto. How's your day?"

"Eh. It's alright," he replied. He held up his right hand to signal the bartender. Iago had been the bartender here for years now, and he knew them all. He knew that Sakura drank top shelf scotch on the rocks or stout beers, Ino drank the shit out of cosmos or pinot gris, Choji and Shikamaru both drank all the best beers and in excess, Kiba only took shots of whiskey, ever, Tenten always got something different, Neji didn't drink, Lee wasn't allowed to, Shino drank pussy beers, Sai mostly enjoyed gin and tonics, but occasionally he'd switch up with a beer, and Hinata liked the frozen drinks like pina coladas and daiquiris. As for himself?

"Dark and Stormy, Naruto," Iago said with a grin as he dropped off a glass.

Ahh. The moment that he'd discovered the Dark and Stormy was the moment he'd discovered true wisdom. Ginger beer and dark rum made an excellent combination. He took a sip to test it, flashed a thumbs up at Iago, and turned back to Kiba. "Hinata's acting weird. She keeps staying out late for training or something, but won't tell me what. I know it sounds crazy, but I'm worried she's got a boyfriend or something on the side."

Kiba's smile slipped for an instant, but it was back almost as quickly as it had disappeared. "No, it's not that. Trust me."

Naruto blinked. "How are you so sure?"

"She has never liked anyone but you, Naruto. She's not changing anytime soon." He poured himself another shot of whiskey and downed it. "Oh, look, Ino-Shika-Cho is here. Catch you later Naruto!" He clapped Naruto on the shoulder and pushed the bottle to the edge of the bar. Iago was already working on settling the new arrivals' drinks.

"Hey guys!" Naruto called, not at all thrown off by Kiba's reaction. He still wasn't quite getting all of the social cues.

"Hey," all three of them said at once.

"Kiba's brooding again?" Ino asked. She really couldn't help herself when it came to gossip, and it reminded Naruto that Kiba had been acting strangely.

"Yeah, what's his deal anyway?" Naruto asked, enjoying his drink.

Shikamaru gave him a look over his beer. "You mean you don't know?" He downed about half of it and set it on the bar.

Choji finished chugging his first beer and slid it across the bar to Iago, who slid him a new one. "Seriously, Naruto, it's old news. Come on."

Naruto looked between all three of them. Clearly he had missed something again. "No, I don't get it."

It was Ino who answered. "You got the girl."

"You mean… Kiba likes… He wanted… I mean… really?" The three of them nodded as one.

"Fuck!"

"You can say that again," Shikamaru muttered.

"FUCK!" He shook his head and finished his Dark and Stormy. "Man, now I feel like a real asshole. I talk about Hinata all the time." He ran a hand through his blonde hair as Ino-Shika-Cho all nodded again. He felt like such an idiot most of the time. He sighed. "I don't really feel like being out anymore. Catch you guys later."

"Later!"

When he finally made it back to his house, Hinata was busying herself in the… wait, in the kitchen? He approached the room warily. The last time she'd tried to cook anything, she'd nearly set the cupboards on fire. She had cried she was so embarrassed, and so most of the time, he cooked or they ordered. He really didn't mind, but it had made her very upset.

He peeked his head in the doorway carefully. "Hi, Naruto!" she welcomed him brightly. "Sit!"

"What's all this about?" he asked suspiciously as he found a chair.

She turned away from him, grabbed something off the counter, and then set a steaming bowl in front of his place at the table. "Happy Anniversary!" she sang, clasping her hands at her waist.

His jaw fell open. He would always know what ramen looked like. She'd really outdone herself. It was a much bigger bowl than normal (she knew about his appetite for ramen), and it had barbecue pork, scallions, potatoes, and a hardboiled egg. He didn't even have words.

"Sorry I've been acting so weird," she explained. "But I was learning how to make ramen at Ichiraku and I wanted it to be a surprise. Teuchi made me promise that you'd still visit, though. You're his best customer." She beamed at him, clearly pleased with herself.

He inhaled the heavenly scent and positioned his chopsticks. Then he caught his wife's eyes and smiled. "I love you, Hinata. I love you so damned much."

**Author's Note:**

> This and Onesided are the oneshots that led to my chapter story "Nosedive."


End file.
